My trip to Napa was quite brief. But you must visit the Niebaum Coppola winery. It was my favorite. Try the Sofia's Blanc de Blanc. It's very refreshing. Also, I attended a wine dinner locally, where B.R. Cohn's wines were featured. I'd love to visit that one as well. It's a smaller winery - but extremely quality wines.

There's a great restaurant we went to also. I'll dig through my stuff tonight to see if I can find it. You'll want to make a reservation.

Joined: 18 Oct 2004Posts: 1654Location: Within view of Elliot Bay, The Olympics and every ship in the Sound

Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:11 pm Post subject:

A dinner at the French Laundry Kitchen is highly recommended. Thomas Keller is amazing as is the setting.
What ever you do, enjoy your anniversary!_________________"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

Yes, the French Laundry would be a brilliant choice. You can only make reservations one month in advance and without "friends in the biz" I understand it's next to impossible to get reservations. You have to call FIRST THING in the morning one month before you want to eat there. And plan to put the number on speed dial and keep calling.

But maybe if you say you'll be coming out from DC, they'll "find" a space for you!

There are also a lot of other restos up there that would be WONDERFUL, where you can actually GET reservations! _________________L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais

I lived near Oakville for half a year in 2004. Napa and Sonoma are wonderful - you're going at a great time. Do be prepared for fruit flies to be everywhere (after harvest), but it'll be great. Yes, the French Laundry is great if you can get a reservation. Other restaurants worth trying are: Bouchon (Thomas Keller's more casual brasserie - it's an industry favourite because it's open late), and Bistro Jeanty in Yountville. On your way north, I recommend stopping at the Oakville Grocery in Oakville (you can't miss it), or further north at Dean & Deluca -- both are great for picnic items, and to spot the locals (and celebs - last time I was at D&D Sean Penn and Robyn Wright Penn were shopping there - they have a place in the area). A fabulous, casual place where all the locals go because they don't charge corkage is the Rutherford grill - they do classics like spare ribs and roast chicken really well. Continue north and you'll reach St.Helena. Make sure you eat at Martini House (it's around the corner from the Sunshine Foods Market on your left) - I worked in the kitchen there for a while - it's wonderful. Very underrated, fabulous wines. Also places not to be missed Tra Vigne, and Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen (Cindy Pawlcyn also has Mustards, but I prefer CBK - she does a monthly supperclub upstairs which is great fun if you can manage it). St. Helena has really great little boutiques, so make sure you spend a few hours there. The town of Napa itself (far south end of the wine strip) is not that rivetting, although Copia is a very lovely and sadly unknown foodie museum of sorts. Also, make sure that when you're in St.Helena you take the Silverado Trail (east of the highway), it has fabulous wineries and L'auberge du Soleil - if you can afford it, make sure you stay there. If not, make sure you have a drink and snack on the patio during sunset - it's breathtaking and romantic.
Sonoma is also worth checking out - Healdsburg is quite nice. Charlie Palmer has a hotel & restaurant which serves great food. If you're driving from Napa to Sonoma, take the Oakville grade (from Oakville - it's a winding road that's a treat to drive)
Above all, make sure you have a great time together - it's very romantic! Take a hot air balloon ride in the morning over the valley if you're up for a little adventure.
I almost forgot! Terra in St.Helena is another fabulous restaurant - a real gem!

My husband and I visited Sonoma last October...If you're visiting wineries in that area, don't miss Armida near Healdburg. It's a ton of fun...they have a Bocce Ball Court, it's a great spot to picnic and the wine is out of this world. Don't miss taking home a bottle of Poizin (packaged in a coffin), which I believe you can only purchase at the tasting room. We also tried their late harvest zinfandel which was AMAZING! I can't wait to go back. Have a great time on your trip!_________________Drink deeply from the cup of life!

I live in San Jose and goto the wine country at least once a year (more often if we have time). Our last trip was two weeks ago. We generally goto Sonoma rather than Napa because Napa tends to charge for tastings and be more crowded.

We've tried lots of B&B's. The most recent Haydon Streed Inn was very nice. Unlike some B&B's they have their wine tasting/reception in the evening when guests are actually around. They are new owners and very eager to please. I really enjoyed the visit.

As for wine tasting my favorites are the ones that are neat places to visit I'm particularly found of the wineries on West Side Drive in the Russian River area. These are typically much smaller wineries, more personal, and have neat building rather than huge marble fortresses. These include Hop Kiln, Armida, and Davis Bynum.